do-me/EUR-LEX huggingface dataset:
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3043/98 by José APOLINÁRIO to the Commission. Carob growing
Date: 1998-10-08
Institutions: APOLINARIO, European Parliament
Subjects: Mediterranean region (EU), aid per hectare, fresh fruit, product quality, production aid, production improvement, utilised agricultural area

C 207/24

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.7.1999

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 1998)

The Commission agrees with the Honourable Member that if the information he gives about the transport is
correct,
including Council Directive 91/628/EEC of
19 November 1991 on the protection of animals during transport and amending Directives 90/425/EEC
and 91/496/EEC (1).

it constitutes a breach of Community legislation,

The Commission will contact the Greek authorities about this matter. Furthermore the Commission would be
grateful to receive a copy of the reports to which the Honourable Member refers.

(1) OJ L 340, 11.12.1991.

(1999/C 207/030)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3043/98

by José Apolinário (PSE) to the Commission

(8 October 1998)

Subject: Carob growing

Can the Commissioner tell me the current estimates for the area under carobs and the number of trees in Italy,
Spain, Portugal and Greece, what the pattern has been in the last ten years and what specific measures have
been applied to the cultivation of carobs?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(4 November 1998)

Around 100 000 hectares of carob trees are cultivated in the Community. However, the Commission does not
have more precise details of the current situation and trends relating to areas under carobs. It will collect this
information from the Member States and communicate it directly to the Honourable Member.

With respect to specific measures applied in the carob sector, the Honourable Member is asked to refer to the
reply given by the Commission to Written Question P-2096/98 by Mr Musumeci (1).

(1)

See page 3.

(1999/C 207/031)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3048/98

by Mirja Ryynänen (ELDR) to the Commission

(2 October 1998)

Subject: Consequences for Finnish farmers of delays in mapping arable areas

The Finnish agriculture ministry was unable to complete the arable land register required by the EU before
monitoring began for this growing season. For this reason the cross-checks on the basis of the land register
were not able to start until August. The main reason for this is that the Irish firm selected on the basis of the
tendering procedure which the EU requires did not have the field maps needed for the register ready in time.
The problems included incorrectly drawn parcels and mis-measured areas: for example clean-felled areas were
recorded as fields. There was no time to enter the farmers’ corrections to the areas, and it was therefore
impossible to use the maps in this spring’s monitoring for subsidy purposes.
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2987/98 by John IVERSEN to the Commission. Call for national registers of veterinary drug use
Date: 1998-10-08
Institutions: European Parliament, IVERSEN
Subjects: antibiotic, database, foodstuff, health control, hormone, human nutrition, infectious disease, meat, public health, veterinary medicinal product

8.4.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 96/155

Moreover, Turkey(cid:146)s insistence on buying the Canadian CANDU type of reactor, which uses totally different
technology from normal high-pressure reactors, raises numerous questions. CANDUs can, in fact, be used to
produce nuclear weapons, which is an obvious threat to peace in the wider region. Following India(cid:146)s admission
that it succeeded in making its own nuclear bomb with the aid of a CANDU reactor, it cannot be ruled out that
Turkey might also repeat the process.

In the light of these revelations, what action will the Commission take to persuade Turkey (an EU associate
country) to cancel this nuclear programme which poses such a tremendous threat to the safety of the EU(cid:146)s
population?

Answer given by Mr van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(28 October 1998)

The Commission would refer the Honorable Member to its answer to his Written Questions P-662/98 (1), E-1876/
98 (2) and E-2190/98 (3) and to Written Question E-2107/98 by Mr Alavanos (4).

(1) OJ C 304, 2.10.1998, p. 143.
(2) See page 12.
(3) See page 54.
(4) See page 37.

(1999/C 96/223)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2987/98

by John Iversen (PSE) to the Commission

(8 October 1998)

Subject: Call for national registers of veterinary drug use

The European consumer(cid:146)s growing desire for wholesome and unadulterated food means there is a need to step up
checks on the use of drugs in farming. Antibiotic growth promoters and the excessive use of drugs are creating
resistant bacteria and, in the longer term, people could die from illnesses such as influenza and pneumonia
because they can no longer be treated using antibiotics.

If national registers were set up to record the use of drugs in farming, it would be possible to compare levels of
use in different Member States and thus to file complaints if use was found to be excessive in certain Member
States. This would also provide a tool for conducting research into the links between resistant bacteria and drug
use. A pattern is already emerging which indicates that the number of resistant bacteria is much lower in the
Scandinavian countries, where veterinary drug use is low compared with countries such as the UK, the
Netherlands and Belgium.

Does the Commission not think it would be a good idea to submit a proposal requiring Member States to establish
national registers of drug use in farming? At the same time, it could submit a proposal requiring antibiotics to be
made available only on prescription in the Member States, which would prevent farmers from using drugs as
growth promoters.

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(11 November 1998)

The Commission is conducting a detailed investigation of the problem raised by the Honourable Member and will
inform him of the outcome as soon as possible.